ANKARA - Turkey’s main opposition party Friday named a senior lawmaker known for his fiery and impassioned rhetoric as its candidate to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in next month’s election, paving the way for a potentially bruising campaign.
The candidate of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the June 24 poll will be Muharrem Ince, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who had already made clear he would not be standing, announced.
“On June 24, I will, God willing, be president by the wish of the people,” Ince added after being called to the stage at an Ankara rally by Kilicaroglu.
“For 80 million people (Turkey’s population)... I will be everyone’s president. I will be an unbiased president,” he added.
The candidacy of Ince, a former physics teacher and MP since 2002, was approved at a meeting of CHP MPs where all 110 of its lawmakers voted for him to stand.
Ince, who turned 54 Friday, faces an uphill struggle to convince voters, as he is running against Turkey’s most experienced and rhetorically-gifted campaigner in the shape of Erdogan.
Yet Ince’s greatest political assets are his rhetorical skills and impassioned speeches which have made him a favourite with the CHP faithful in recent years. (AFP)